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Canton would probably be the most suitable for maintenance as it's the closest you'll get to the south end of the Heart of Wales line. If TfW had Landore (for regular maintenance) then that'd be an obvious choice. I'm unsure about how much space Crewe has for maintenance work on them. So Canton to me seems like the obvious first choice.
Canton would probably be the most suitable for maintenance as it's the closest you'll get to the south end of the Heart of Wales line. If TfW had Landore (for regular maintenance) then that'd be an obvious choice. I'm unsure about how much space Crewe has for maintenance work on them. So Canton to me seems like the obvious first choice.
It's the reason they're used on Crewe - Shrewsbury locals. Not to get them to Crewe (that can be done with a 30 minute ECS run from Shrewsbury), but to ensure there's enough work on them for Crewe drivers so that they can remain competent, so that they may also bring them on and off the depot when needed.
You would likely have to find some kind of similar workaround if you went with Canton instead; enough work to keep Cardiff drivers competent on 153s. ECS runs to or from the depot aren't enough.
AT01 (not sure about others) has had an update to it’s auto announcers and now plays a bi-lingual announcement akin to the 197/Mk4s, with the same voices. The wording is are definitely different to those on the newer stock however.
Had the liberty of being on AT04 this morning and it also has it. It sounds very weird on a sprinter and it's also a bit too quiet as I could barely hear it over the sounds of well, a sprinter!
Could @MP393 and/or @BillStampy (or anyone else in here) get a video or audio recording of the new Eryl Welsh and Elin English bi-lingual announcements onboard the 153s please? I'd really like to hear them, even though I'm not around the 153s at the moment (and I'm sure the likes of @TT-ONR-NRN@Parallel and @lokiavivson would too!)
Either way, I'm thinking of going for a ride myself in a few days and doing my own audio recording. Such a change indeed from just Ruth English! So the 153s have now joined the Mark 4s, 197s, 231s and 756s in having Eryl Welsh and Elin English.
Could @MP393 and/or @BillStampy (or anyone else in here) get a video or audio recording of the new Eryl Welsh and Elin English bi-lingual announcements onboard the 153s please? I'd really like to hear them, even though I'm not around the 153s at the moment (and I'm sure the likes of @TT-ONR-NRN@Parallel and @lokiavivson would too!)
Either way, I'm thinking of going for a ride myself in a few days and doing my own audio recording. Such a change indeed from just Ruth English! So the 153s have now joined the Mark 4s, 197s, 231s and 756s in having Eryl Welsh and Elin English.
He uploaded another one slightly after - it seems they couldn't entirely get rid of Ruth, with her principal stations Also, they forgot to take out the "CY" from the display after putting in the Cymraeg (Welsh):
Those new Elin Llwyd voiced English announcements on these 153s are such a downgrade. Why could they not keep Ruth Michell for the English announcements and just add Eryl Jones for the Welsh announcements. Ruth and Eryl are the perfect combination. Ruth has a nice voice (much more relaxing sounding in comparison) that is pleasant to listen to and Eryl works well too. Elin has a much sharper voice which gets very annoying after listening to multiple announcements. The voice of Elin is also harder to hear properly compared to the Ruth announcements (a similar thing has happened at SWR since switching from Celia to Elinor on theirs) which also makes it sound worse quality.
Does anyone know which 153s now have these new announcements? That video is unit number 153 507 but i presume it is being done gradually so not all have it yet?
Those new Elin Llwyd voiced English announcements on these 153s are such a downgrade. Why could they not keep Ruth Michell for the English announcements and just add Eryl Jones for the Welsh announcements. Ruth and Eryl are the perfect combination. Ruth has a nice voice (much more relaxing sounding in comparison) that is pleasant to listen to and Eryl works well too. Elin has a much sharper voice which gets very annoying after listening to multiple announcements. The voice of Elin is also harder to hear properly compared to the Ruth announcements (a similar thing has happened at SWR since switching from Celia to Elinor on theirs) which also makes it sound worse quality.
Does anyone know which 153s now have these new announcements? That video is unit number 153 507 but i presume it is being done gradually so not all have it yet?
Elin is the current English-language voice of Transport for Wales (TfW) on-train announcements and is now on 153s, Mark 4s, 197s, 231s and 756s. These are all trains that TfW are keeping, whether for 5 years or 25 years.
With the 230s also being trains that TfW are keeping, it wouldn't surprise me if the announcements on those are updated to be like the new ones on the 153s (if they haven't been already).
As the remaining 150s and 158s will be withdrawn in the short term, I wonder if they'll bother updating them to Eryl and Elin, or just leave them with Ruth?
As I understand it, Ruth only remains on station announcements because TfW haven't yet got round to replacing her with Elin (they have told me that they've been thinking of doing it at some point, if I remember correctly).
While I've liked Ruth, I think her voice hasn't aged as well as Eryl's and I associate her with Arriva Trains Wales and old trains, whereas I think Elin's voice fits well with TfW and new trains (obviously, the 153s and Mark 4s aren't new, but the 197s/231s/756s are).
I agree with you though about recordings not always being at the proper sound level - they should do better than that.
So far, the new announcements have been reported to be on sets AT01 (153507+153312), AT02 (153528+153353), AT03 (153531+153303), and AT04 (153552+153382).
(the above paragraph was edited on the 21/8/25)
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Hi, does anyone in here know whether or not set AT03 (153531+153303) has now had the new bi-lingual (Eryl Welsh and Elin English - Mk4/197/231/756 voices) on-train automated announcements installed?
Edit: As I'm now on it, I can say that yes, it has, although it still has the "upcoming event file instead of Shrewsbury" glitch:
"This train is for... Due to an upcoming event, our services may be busier than usual. For more information visit our website tfw.wales."
Also, Tregwyr (the station that in English is Gowerton) is mis-spelled on the screens as "Tregyr".
Finally, after the initial "this train is for..." announcement before departing from Swansea, there was no announcement audio (but the screens still worked) until after Llanelli ("the next stop is Pantyffynon").
I've informed Transport for Wales Rail of all of this.
Would anyone know if the Active travel sets carry some form of track monitoring equipment?
I saw AT03 in Cardiff on Monday and because it was late in the evening, I noticed there was a very bright light shining down behind the snowplough on the off side. (Initially thought it was the headlight reflecting on the rail)
This was on the original 153 rather than the 153/5
Would anyone know if the Active travel sets carry some form of track monitoring equipment?
I saw AT03 in Cardiff on Monday and because it was late in the evening, I noticed there was a very bright light shining down behind the snowplough on the off side. (Initially thought it was the headlight reflecting on the rail)
This was on the original 153 rather than the 153/5
A couple of the original 153s were fitted with track monitoring equipment and downward facing lights a while back, probably 12-18 months. Cant remember exact numbers but I think it was 2 or 3 which were fitted.
A couple of the original 153s were fitted with track monitoring equipment and downward facing lights a while back, probably 12-18 months. Cant remember exact numbers but I think it was 2 or 3 which were fitted.
A couple of the original 153s were fitted with track monitoring equipment and downward facing lights a while back, probably 12-18 months. Cant remember exact numbers but I think it was 2 or 3 which were fitted.
What a fascinating post, I hadn't realised that they had anything like so much variety in the scenes depicted.
I haven't been in the area since the AT sets came into use, but I should be there in a couple of months time and I'll enjoy trying to spot as many of them as I can.
So far, the new announcements have been reported to be on sets AT01 (153507+153312), AT02 (153528+153353), AT03 (153531+153303), and AT04 (153552+153382).
Stupid question here, but are the AT-sets all fixed formation? As they don't show on RTT (only that they're a 2 car with no unit allocation or graphics).
Stupid question here, but are the AT-sets all fixed formation? As they don't show on RTT (only that they're a 2 car with no unit allocation or graphics).
finishing the journey at Shrewsbury: L-R Market Hall Clock Tower, Quarry Park Lodge, Lord Hill's Column, St Chad's Church and Abbey Foregate View attachment 188736
Stupid question here, but are the AT-sets all fixed formation? As they don't show on RTT (only that they're a 2 car with no unit allocation or graphics).
Sort of. Mechanically there's nothing stopping the formations changing, but there are signs in the buried cabs that the units are not to be split unless told to do so by control - so in practice, they are fixed.
Sort of. Mechanically there's nothing stopping the formations changing, but there are signs in the buried cabs that the units are not to be split unless told to do so by control - so in practice, they are fixed.
Things have changed a bit compared to a when they were posted:
AT01 is already formed as 153507+153362
AT02-05 are formed as above
AT06 isnt yet released but now looks likely to be 153568+153312, both are at Landore.
Spare now looks to be 153327 which has been at Crewe for many months.
The little cab of the AT vehicle and the big cab of the original 153 are buried in the middle. Every set is the same and is a big part of the reason why they were formed in the first place so that wheelchair accessible doors etc are always in the same place.
Things have changed a bit compared to a when they were posted:
AT01 is already formed as 153507+153362
AT02-05 are formed as above
AT06 isnt yet released but now looks likely to be 153568+153312, both are at Landore.
Spare now looks to be 153327 which has been at Crewe for many months.
Things have changed a bit compared to a when they were posted:
AT01 is already formed as 153507+153362
AT02-05 are formed as above
AT06 isnt yet released but now looks likely to be 153568+153312, both are at Landore.
Spare now looks to be 153327 which has been at Crewe for many months.
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I'd really like to hear them, even though I'm not around the 153s at the moment (and I'm sure the likes of 
Also, they forgot to take out the "CY" from the display after putting in the Cymraeg (Welsh):
